The announcement of the funding commitment comes within days of the appointment of the former head of the Millennium Dome, Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, to the board of C&R with responsibility for the company's leisure division, X-Leisure and the fund management interests acquired by C&R from Marylebone Warwick Balfour in January.

The division already plans to open its ski slope-based Xscape concept, already operational in Milton Keynes, in Leeds in September and in Glasgow. X-Leisure already has 30% market share of the UK leisure property market and with £610 million ($950.5 million) worth of assets under management. Xscape operates in Milton Keynes with further sites due to open in Leeds in September this year, and Glasgow in 2005.

Earlier this month the company announced a slump in full year profits from £11.4 million (£17.9 million) to £2.1 million ($3.3 million). Net asset value rose from 336p to 388p. The company also confirmed it had completed its transformation from a traditional property company to a real estate asset manager was complete.

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